tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post8977610563590590279..comments2019-01-21T10:41:31.932-08:00Comments on South Asia Investor Review: Free Speech: Myth vs RealityRiaz Haqhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-91978029197245359112018-10-25T10:42:07.721-07:002018-10-25T10:42:07.721-07:00Insulting Prophet #Muhammad (PBUH) not &#39;#FreeS...Insulting Prophet #Muhammad (PBUH) not &#39;#FreeSpeech&#39;, Europe&#39;s Court of Human Rights rules. Defaming the Prophet Muhammad exceeds the permissible limits of freedom of expression, ruled the #ECtHR, upholding an #Austrian court’s decision. #Blasphemy #Islam http://sabahdai.ly/OyLmdP<br /><br />The decision by a seven-judge panel came as an Austrian national identified as E.S. by the court, had held seminars on Islam in 2008 and 2009 for the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) where she discussed the prophet&#39;s marriage to his wife Aisha, a child at the time, and implied that he was a pedophile.<br /><br />An Austrian court convicted her of disparaging religious doctrines in 2011 and fined her 480 euros (548 dollars), a judgment that was upheld on two appeals.<br /><br />Stating that the court had found that &quot;the applicant&#39;s statements had been likely to arouse justified indignation in Muslims&quot; and &quot;amounted to a generalization without factual basis&quot;, the Strasbourg-based ECtHR said that the woman&#39;s comments could not be covered by the freedom of expression.<br /><br />The court said it &quot;found in particular that the domestic courts comprehensively assessed the wider context of the applicant&#39;s statements and carefully balanced her right to freedom of expression with the right of others to have their religious feelings protected, and served the legitimate aim of preserving religious peace in Austria.&quot;<br /><br />The statement also added that there had been no violation of Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights, covering freedom of expression. &quot;Relying on Article 10 (freedom of expression), E.S. complained that the domestic courts failed to address the substance of the impugned statements in the light of her right to freedom of expression.&quot;<br /><br />ES&#39; statements &quot;were not phrased in a neutral manner aimed at being an objective contribution to a public debate concerning child marriages,&quot; the ECtHR held, adding that the moderate fine imposed on her could not be considered disproportionate.<br /><br />The Austrian courts had drawn a distinction between pedophilia and child marriage, which was also a common practice historically in European ruling families.<br /><br />The ECtHR also underlined that it classified the &#39;impugned&#39; statements as &quot;an abusive attack on the Prophet of Islam, which was capable of stirring up prejudice and putting at risk religious peace.&quot;<br /><br />It noted that the Austrian courts had held that ES was making value judgments partly based on untrue facts and without regard to the historical context.<br /><br />Religious beliefs must be subject to criticism and denial, the ECHR observed, but when statements about religions went beyond critical denial and were likely to incite religious intolerance, states could take proportionate restrictive measures, the court said.<br /><br />Austria, a country of 8.8 million people, has roughly 600,000 Muslim inhabitants. Lately, it has emerged as the leader of Islamophobia among European countries. The coalition government, an alliance of conservatives and the far right, came to power soon after Europe&#39;s migration crisis on promises to prevent another influx and restrict benefits for new immigrants and refugees. In April, Austria&#39;s far-right Chancellor Sebastian Kurz threatened to close one of the biggest mosques in Vienna and urged municipal authorities to be stricter regarding state subsidies for Muslim organizations in the city.Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-75042723730979094612018-06-08T07:12:11.382-07:002018-06-08T07:12:11.382-07:00Foreign Media Calls Out Indian Media’s Silence on ...Foreign Media Calls Out Indian Media’s Silence on Cobrapost Sting<br /><br />https://www.thequint.com/news/india/foreign-media-on-cobrapost-sting<br /><br />The ignominy of Indian mainstream media’s deafening silence around the Cobrapost sting ‘Operation 136’ , which sought to expose the alleged underbelly of India’s biggest media outlets, has caught the eye of many international media houses.<br /><br />Though the operation and its claims have been refuted by the media firms who have allegedly been exposed, what has raised eyebrows is the Indian media’s coverage, or lack thereof, surrounding the sting operation.<br /><br />The sting operation that targets 27 media outlets, including some of the country’s biggest, reveals the supposed willingness of these media outlets to run political and religious propaganda in favour of the ruling government in return for hefty financial gains.<br /><br />Apart from The Indian Express, that reported the story in a hard hitting piece titled ‘Where Anything Goes’ , most of the mainstream media turned a blind eye towards the story.<br /><br />This led to a number of international media outlets calling out the Indian media for having failed to highlight the failures within the fraternity.<br /><br />Indian Press Seems Willing to Peddle Political Propaganda: Foreign Policy<br />Pamposh Raina’s report in Foreign Policy talks about the fact that if proven, the media of the world’s largest democracy, would be willing to be used as propaganda mouthpieces by religious and political parties to spread their agenda.<br /><br />“Despite sting journalism’s controversial reputation, the exposé, if accurate, reveals the ease with which the Indian press seems willing to peddle a political agenda. And, if true, the videos are all the more troubling given that India’s history has repeatedly shown mixing religion and politics can lead to violent sectarian clashes,” Foreign Policy wrote.<br />Troubling Doubts over the Independence of Media in India: BBC<br />Meanwhile the BBC highlighted the troubling issues that plague the Indian media, especially the fact that press freedom rankings of the country is a matter of shame and that if these allegations are proven true, it only further solidifies the concerns of Indian media’s follies.<br /><br />There is no question that the Cobrapost allegations need to be treated with healthy skepticism. But there is also no question that they raise potentially troubling doubts over the independence of the media in India, particularly when it is a year away from a general election.<br />BBC<br />Also Read: Cobrapost Sting: ‘Explain Your Position,’ Editors Guild Asks Media<br /><br />Problematic Time for Indian Journalism: Al Jazeera<br />A report in the Al Jazeera underlined that it is a troubling time for Indian journalism. In their weekly programme ‘The Listening Post’ that examines and dissects the world media, Richard Gizbert talks about the conspicuous absence of the Cobrapost sting operation in the Indian media coverage.<br /><br /><br />The suspicion that Indian media outlets can be bought is not new. So for many, the Cobrapost sting simply confirmed what they had long suspected and did so at an already problematic time for Indian journalism. In the four years of the Narendra Modi government, polarisation across the media has grown more extreme; the voices more shrill. <br />Al Jazeera<br />If at all these allegations were to be proven true, it would be a damning moment for the Indian media, and would only further intensify the skepticism that one goes through while reading and watching news in the mainstream media.<br /><br />(With inputs from Al Jazeera, BBC and Foreign Policy)<br />Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278279504304651957.post-74456525135507449232018-05-28T10:39:57.139-07:002018-05-28T10:39:57.139-07:00BBC News - The story barely reported by #Indian #m...BBC News - The story barely reported by #Indian #media. Deeply engrained bias towards the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (#BJP) within many of #India&#39;s leading media groups<br /><br />http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-44280188#<br /><br />It is a potential scandal that claims to strike at a key pillar of Indian democracy - the freedom of the press - yet it is barely being reported in the Indian media.<br /><br />There&#39;s a simple reason for that: this alleged scandal involves many of the most powerful media institutions in the country.<br /><br />A sting operation by a news organisation called Cobrapost claims to have revealed a deeply engrained bias towards the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) within many of India&#39;s leading media groups, as well as a willingness among some of the country&#39;s most senior media executives and journalists to take money in return for pushing a political agenda.<br /><br />Cobrapost, a small but controversial outlet known for undercover stings, describes itself as a non-profit news organisation that believes too much journalism in India has been &quot;trivialised&quot;. It has dubbed its story &quot;Operation 136&quot; - the figure is a reference to India&#39;s ranking in the 2017 World Press Freedom Index.<br /><br />Their website says its recordings show that some of the country&#39;s leading news organisations are willing to &quot;not only cause communal disharmony among citizens, but also tilt the electoral outcome in favour of a particular party&quot;- and all in return for cash.<br /><br />Undercover stings of this kind are notoriously unreliable. The footage can easily be taken out of context or edited to change the meaning of a conversation or misrepresent its real nature.<br /><br />An undercover reporter from Cobrapost, Pushp Sharma, says he approached more than 25 of India&#39;s leading media organisations, offering them all a similar deal.<br /><br />He claimed to represent a wealthy ashram - a Hindu monastery - which, he said, was willing to pay large amounts of money in the run up to next year&#39;s general election in an attempt to ensure the BJP, a Hindu nationalist party, remains in power.<br /><br />Mr Sharma says he outlined a three-stage strategy his paymasters wanted to bankroll.<br /><br />First, he proposed the media organisations promote what he describes as &quot;soft Hindutva&quot; - the idea that Hindu faith and values are the defining ideology of India. He suggested this could involve promoting the sayings of Lord Krishna or retelling stories from the Bhagvad Gita, the epic poem that is one of the most holy texts of Hinduism.<br /><br />The next stage would involve attacks on the BJP&#39;s political rivals, particularly Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the main opposition Congress Party.<br /><br />Finally, the plan was to move on to promoting incendiary speeches from some of hard-line proponents of Hindutva, including some divisive radical Hindu figures.<br /><br />The idea of this stage of the operation, Mr Sharma explained to some of the executives, was to polarise voters in the hope that the BJP would benefit at the ballot box.<br /><br />&#39;Viral videos and jingles&#39;<br />Amongst the media groups Cobrapost says it approached were giants like Bennett Coleman, the media empire that owns The Times of India - the largest selling English language newspaper not just in India, but in the world.<br /><br />It also targeted the The New Indian Express, another large English language newspaper, and the India Today Group, which owns one of the country&#39;s most popular television news channels.<br /><br />Hindi language newspapers and regional media groups were also approached.<br />Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.com